


The Diner

by Sweetie_T



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: AU, Bar, Christmas Party, F/M, Getting to know you, No Smut, Post-Series, Protective Snape, Rated T for threatened violence, Reader Kicks Butt, Romance, diner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 02:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12160005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetie_T/pseuds/Sweetie_T
Summary: The war is over and Snape has somehow secretly survived. He has gone to the US to live a muggle life. He simply dredges through his pointless existence... until he meets you.





	The Diner

 

You wiped the counter with a damp rag and let your eyes drink in your sole customer. He was a study in intensity, dressed entirely in black with a sallow complexion, prominent nose, shoulder length dark hair and slightly sunken eyes the color of a moonless midnight sky.

He had been coming in every night for almost two years, drinking coffee and reading classic literature. He never ordered food, just the coffee, but he always tipped you exceedingly generously. Even if he hadn't, however, you still would have eagerly anticipated his visits just for the chance to hear his voice. It was like the finest red wine. You couldn't help but imagine swallowing his every word. You could almost feel them slipping down your throat- dark, velvety soft, deep and utterly intoxicating. At first he only ever uttered two words a night- "Coffee, black."

...

Over time, it had become your mission in life to coax him to speak to you. You approached him very slowly, trying to get him to chat about the news and the weather. Nothing had worked, his brief answers coming only in the form of a glance, a nod of the head or an arch of the brow. And then inspiration came to you in a flash of a dust cover. One night he had brought in his latest book, which, as luck would have it, happened to be one of your favorites.

True to routine, he ordered his "Coffee, black." in that silky dark voice of his, and opened his well-read copy of Pride and Prejudice to somewhere in the middle.

"Have you read this before?" You asked as you filled his mug. His dark eyes shot to yours, and stayed there. You stopped pouring and looked at him pleasantly while he looked at you darkly. He stayed this way for a few moments, as if he were deciding something.

Finally sighing, he answered- "Many times, yes." His eyes dropped back to his reading.

"What's your favorite part?" You threw over your shoulder in what you prayed was a casual tone as you placed the carafe back under the drip.

He looked up again, not bothering to hide his slight irritation at the interruption, but at the same time contemplating his answer. Sighing deeply through his strong nose, he replied, "I enjoy the reveal. The moment the truth is outed and the shock that overcomes the two as they suddenly understand one another." You tried not to gape at his verbosity as his eyes returned to the pages. That had been the most he had ever spoken in your presence, and you found your suspicions confirmed- he had a British accent, his voice was the most delicious you had ever heard, and you desperately wanted to hear more.

...

In the several months since that night he had really opened up to you. You had discussed books, music, plays and art. He had inquired about your status and your life- single, waitress, aspiring writer. He gave you his name- Sev, unusual but beautiful, like him, and you gave him your own. He had said your name suited you, lovely, gentle and kind.

You found that as much as he spoke to you, you could never get enough of his voice. It soothed something inside that you hadn't realized needed easing, and you could imagine yourself happily listening to him for hours.

He had eventually convinced you to let him read one of your stories. You were mortified, no one had ever read your work and you trembled nonstop until he was done. But he surprised you by giving a very gentle critique in a way that inspired you to improve instead of crushing you, and you appreciated that was not an easy skill.

Each time you would query about each other's past you would offer vague answers or side-step the questions entirely. He was certainly a mystery to you, but somehow he had become one of your fastest friends, and you felt you could trust him completely.

Which was how, on this mid December night, you found yourself nervously working up your courage. You paused your cleaning routine, leaned your elbows on the counter opposite him, and fidgeted with the rag, suddenly finding it impossible to look away from the slightly stained, bleach-scented cloth.

He looked up from his copy of Les Miserables and pinned his studious gaze onto you.

"Y/N... out with it." He said, his voice gentle.

Your head snapped up and you looked at him with wide eyes. "What?"

He carefully placed his marker, closed his book and looked at you with undivided attention. "You have been cleaning this same square of counter for twenty minutes. You are about to scrub clear through. You obviously have something you wish to discuss, so..." He smiled slightly and continued gently, "...Out with it."

Straightening and standing tall, you sighed heavily. "Russ has graciously invited all of the diner employees to a holiday party. It's on Christmas Eve night and attendance is mandatory for everyone who would like to keep their job."

At the mention of your boss, Russ, Sev bristled. Occasionally Russ would come in during the evening shift, and Sev had witnessed the way he looked at you when you were unaware of his gaze. He had noticed the way Russ made you uncomfortable, always standing too close, leaning over you, touching your arm or the small of your back. Sometimes it made him wish... It made him wish some things from his past had remained the same.

"Now, he didn't mention anything about plus-ones..." You continued, picking at the rag and sounding decidedly uncomfortable. Sev hid a smirk behind his napkin as your face turned red. "But Amruth is bringing his whole family and I was hoping...I mean, if you're not busy, of course..."

He took pity on you. "Would you like me to accompany you to the party, Y/N?"

"If you wouldn't mind... I'd love for you to come with me." You rushed the words out before you lost your nerve completely.

"I would love to attend. What is the dress code?" Your blush deepened and he arched a brow at you, waiting patiently for an answer.

"Um..." You swallowed. You felt like an idiot. Of course he wouldn't want to come once he knew. "Ug...ugly Christmas sweaters."

He surprised the hell out of you by placing his hand lightly on your own. "Shall I pick you up or would you like to meet?"

You looked at him, stunned. "Oh... Uh... We can walk from here. The diner's open until six. I'm working."

He nodded. "I will be here with... An ugly sweater on." You shared a smirk.

...

Christmas Eve was the slowest day of the year for the diner. You spent your time serving the rare patron and cleaning, organizing and inventory-ing. Your boss Russ was there, along with the cook, Amruth. You were impressed with your own patience when serving the last dawdling customer, who at 5:50 had just asked for another refill of their soda.

The tinkling of the bell on the door sounded and your heart sank. Not another customer! You would miss the party. Which wouldn't be such a tragedy except for the fact that you were to be accompanied by Sev. You looked up and beamed your relief. It was Sev himself in a green sweater.

Your mouth dropped open as you realized what was on the front. It was a gingerbread man with a broken leg and it said "Oh, Snap!". You burst out laughing at the incongruity between the goofy sweater and the normally solemn man. Sev didn't smile, but he did give you a little smirk and his eyes twinkled. Your laugh never failed to delight him.

"You look wonderful, Sev. Would you like coffee?" You smiled, your eyes still glittering from your fit of giggles.

He looked around the diner and noticed you still had a customer. He nodded. "Yes, please." And took his usual seat at the counter.

You poured his coffee and placed it in front of him. "As soon as we close up I'll change and we can go."

Russ came out from the back and looked Sev over scornfully, as he usually did, before ignoring him completely.

"So... You wanna ride to my place, Y/N?" He leaned his considerable bulk unprofessionally close to you, not even trying to hide the fact that his gaze was aimed directly down the front of your blouse. Sev again felt the desire to exercise certain talents long-since forgotten.

You turned away from Russ and toward Sev with a smile on the pretense of offering him a freshly polished spoon even though you were well aware he took his coffee black. "No, thank you, Russ. I'll be walking with Sev."

Russ looked like someone just spit in his beer, but he wisely, for once, said nothing. He hung back and started counting the till. Sev was surprised he was able to keep any sort of accurate count, he spent as much time staring at your ass as he did counting the money.

The last customer finished up and paid their bill, and Sev cleared his ticket. You wiped up the last table and bussed the few dishes. You beamed a radiant smile at him. "I've already cleaned the other tables, the floor, the kitchen and the bathroom." You turned to Russ. "Need anything else before I clock out, boss?"

"Nope. See you at my place." He was frowning at the till, visibly confused by his calculations.

You clocked out and hung up your apron. "Be right back." Sev nodded at you. You practically skipped off to the bathroom with your messenger bag to change.

Sev sat patiently for about five minutes before Russ bagged up the money and receipts and leaned on the counter in front of him. The man inflated himself to even more gargantuan proportions than usual. Sev was not intimidated in the slightest.

"So..." Russ sucked on his teeth and sized up Sev. "What are your intentions with Y/N?"

Sev tried, really he did, but he couldn't keep a straight face. He sneered at the buffoon. "My intentions, young man, are a significant degree more respectful than those of some of the inhabitants of this establishment, I can assure you."

Russ blinked at him, trying to decide whether or not he had just been insulted.

Before he could puzzle it out you emerged from the ladies' room in an emerald green short sweater dress over black leggings. The dress was wound with golden tinsel and you had a gold star-shaped tiara on your head. You looked like a walking Christmas tree.

Russ half-choked on his own tongue at your form-fitting ensemble, sputtering and coughing. Other than a cursory 'bye' you pointedly ignored him, slipped on your coat and grabbed Sev's arm, guiding him out the door.

...

The walk to the party was pleasant. You clung to Sev's arm the entire way and, twice, you were very glad you did because you nearly slipped on the icy sidewalk and he had to catch you each time. You blushed charmingly and smiled at him after the second time.

"You know..." Your breath left you with little puffs of vapor. "Your clothes don't do you justice."

He arched a brow and kept a firm grip on the arm of your coat. "No?"

You shook your head. "No. They're a bit too big for you so I would have never guessed you had such strong muscles underneath. Thank you for catching me, by the way. Both times."

It was his turn to blush slightly. "It was my pleasure." He answered cheekily. You grinned and walked even closer to him.

...

The party was nice. Amruth was there with his wife and their three small children. A few of the other servers, the prep cook and the dish washer were there. All of them seemed to run with a younger, wilder crowd and they were soon drunk or high or a mixture of the two.

And, of course, Russ was there. He was wearing a very inappropriate ugly sweater decorated with an upside down snowman sporting a proud, three dimensional, strategically placed carrot nose. He was at least 15 years older than the younger crowd, but he clung to them with an air of pitiful desperation, laughing at their jokes and taking hits of whatever they were passing around. When he wasn't making an ass of himself he alternated between glaring at Sev and gazing hungrily at you.

You took no notice of the younger group and instead pulled Sev over to Amruth and his wife. You made pleasant conversation for a while. It was late and all of the cook's children were asleep, or very close to it. Amruth held one of his toddlers and you held the cook's newborn. Amruth's wife held the older toddler. At one point she had to visit the lavatory and she offered the child to Sev.

He accepted at once, and it was a bit awkward, having been such a very long time since he had held a little one, but he was pleased to discover he still remembered how to calm a child back to sleep. He rocked the small girl and patted her back, tucking a few ebony curls behind her ear and humming tunelessly. You watched this, enraptured, and it was such a sweet sight you had to consciously prevent yourself from melting into the floor.

Amruth and his family left before it got too much later and Sev popped into the lavatory for a moment before you both were to take your leave. You held his coat and your bag and were waiting by the door when an inebriated Russ came sidling much too close to you.

"Y/N... You look so... Tonight..." He slurred, leaning heavily on the wall to hold the room still.

You frowned at him. "You should probably go to bed, Russ. You don't look so good."

He smiled much too widely and leaned even closer to you, his chin nearly resting on your shoulder. "W'you tuck me in?"

You took one step away. "Why don't you ask one of your friends over there?" You gestured to the group, grimacing as you noticed a guy licking some sort of powder off of a girl's neck. You really hoped it was just salt.

"You're a tree." Russ said suggestively, like he was spouting romantic poetry.

"Yes. You're a snowman."

"Wanna touch my nose?"

"No, thank you. Please back up." He had you halfway pinned against his front door.

"Are my presents under your tree?" He began to reach for the bottom hem of your dress but before you could even feel the brush of his fingertips his hand was violently flung away from you. You looked, but no one was near you. You noticed Sev standing by the bathroom door, staring at Russ, blind fury in his dark eyes.

He stalked over with purpose and you grabbed his arm, pulling him away from Russ, shouting a quick goodbye to the crowd and slipping out of the door with him, helping him on with his coat once you were safely on the other side.

...

Sev walked you halfway home without a single utterance, his grip on your coat firm and his stride quick. When he finally calmed some, he stopped and spun you to face him.

"Don't go back."

You stared at him, bewildered. "Wha..."

He interrupted, his deep voice rough and emphatic. "Don't go back to the diner. Quit your job. He's going to hurt you."

"He's harmless. He's never hurt me."

"He was going to tonight."

"He was drunk."

"Please... Y/N..." Sev stroked your cheek with his thumb. "Find another diner, a cafe, a publisher. Damn, but you should be published. But don't go back there."

You leaned into his touch and he found it difficult to breathe. You smiled softly at him. "I've kind of always wanted to learn to bartend."

He treated you with a rare half-smile.

You suddenly looked worried. "What about... Would you frequent a bar?..." You bit your bottom lip and looked down slightly, the dismay at the thought of losing time with him surprisingly potent. He bent slightly and caught your gaze.

"If you were working the bar I would come in every night."

Your face brightened again and you flung your arms around his neck, holding him tightly. He closed his eyes, put his arms around you and breathed you in.

...

The bar was a dive, but you took to the work quickly and were soon the best bartender they had. Your regulars loved you. The bar was owned by a sweet couple, two tattooed, giant, muscular, biker-type guys who became like your adopted big brothers. If anyone messed with you they had your bosses to answer to.

And every night, like clockwork, Sev would come in with a book and sit at the end of the bar. He only ever ordered one drink, "Whiskey, neat." and he would nurse it all night. But his tips, as usual, were always staggeringly generous.

He was very glad your bosses made it their mission to protect you. And he was doubly glad you hadn't seemed to notice his little flummox with your previous boss at the holiday party. That was a part of his life he knew he had to keep hidden.

So Sev would frequent your bar, read his book, sip his drink, and happily allow you to drag him into conversation. It went on like this for months, both of you perfectly content with the ease of your semi-relationship.

One weekend about a year after starting at the bar your bosses asked you to stay late to help with inventory. It meant you would be making your way home at an obscenely indecent hour. When you told Sev about it he had insisted he would see you safely home. Your eyes had lit up at his chivalrous offer and his heart had leapt at your joyous relief.

And now Sev was sitting in a booth, hours after closing time, waiting to walk you home. At last the inventory was done and you came out of the back room visibly tired. Your bosses followed and thanked Sev for making sure you got home okay.

He nodded at them. "Of course, any time."

You both bundled up and ventured out into the snow, you clinging to his arm and him clinging to yours as you traversed the icy sidewalks.

You shared casual conversation and every time you laughed he felt his heart sing. And every time he gazed into your eyes you felt your heart melt. You were so wrapped up in one another you took no notice of the wiry, skittish man hugging the shadows behind you and following your every move.

You came upon a certain block on the way to your house that always made you nervous. All of the street lights had been smashed and the sidewalk itself was barely visible. Sev held you tighter in case you lost your footing in the gloom, but about halfway through the block you were abruptly and viciously torn away from him.

He squinted frantically into the dark and his vision was soon aided by the wiry man holding a small flashlight near you. You were currently swallowing against a gleaming blade pressed to your throat.

Sev froze. He was at war internally. Even after three years he was unsure how to handle this situation. He knew in his past life he would have simply said...

"Expelliarmus." You muttered and the man's knife flew out of his hand. You threw an elbow behind you and caught him in the diaphragm, knocking the wind right out of him. And once he was on the ground you kicked him, hard, between the legs for good measure.

Severus was rooted to the spot, half certain he was dreaming. You turned and glanced at him. Noting his stunned expression you nervously chewed your bottom lip. After a pregnant silence you both spoke at once.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions..."  
"Why didn't you tell me you're a witch?..."

You blinked at each other. Then you spoke at the same time again.

"You know about magic?"  
"I thought you were a muggle."

You shared a smile. Severus took the marker from his book and suddenly it was his wand again. He whispered, "Lumos" and the suffocating darkness shrank back from you.

You clapped your hands to your mouth, your eyes dancing in wonder, staring into his. Severus couldn't look away from you. You dropped your hands and wrapped them around his middle, hugging him tightly.

You whispered "Let's go home."

And you apparated away.


End file.
